SEN. DAN INOUYE

The biggest theft of city money in Honolulu history took place under Jeremy's watch. Former city housing official Michael Kahapea was accused of stealing almost $6 million in the Ewa Villages scandal. Newly appointed Circuit Court Judge Rey Graulty somehow wound up with the case and denied the defense any opportunity to question Harris. Graulty had just been appointed judge by Governor Ben Cayetano and remember, Ben, with the help of Dan Inouye, cut a deal with Harris not to run against him in the '98 Democratic primary. And so, Graulty shielded Jeremy from the scandal.

Judge Graulty did allow the defense to question Francis Kaahaaina, the man who threatened to "bring the mayor down with me" if charged in the case. But Kaahaaina could not be found and never testified.| Next Page | Previous Page | Table of Contents | Part II |

Evidence is emerging that Democrat operatives may have held transcripts of resigned Florida Republican Congressman Mark Foley’s salacious instant messaging conversations and emails for months if not years in hopes of using them in an “October surprise” in order to defeat Republicans at the polls.

The danger posed to underage Congressional pages is obvious -- but what is only now becoming evident is the danger to sitting Democrat Senators and Congressman as old sex-scandals re-emerge.

The media frenzy is having unintended consequences for Democrats here in Hawaii. One example is renewed media interest in a scandal involving Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI). In recent days the Washington Post has included mention of an alleged 1975 incident involving Inouye which came to light in 1992:

“Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) - In October 1992, Republican Senate nominee Rick Reed began running a campaign commercial that included a surreptitiously taped interview with Lenore Kwock, Inouye's hairdresser. Kwock said Inouye had sexually forced himself on her in 1975 and continued a pattern of sexual harassment, even as Kwock continued to cut his hair over the years. Inouye, seeking a sixth term, denied the charges. And Kwock said that by running the commercial, Reed had caused her more pain than Inouye had. Reed was forced to pull the ad, and while many voters took out their anger on the Republican, Inouye was held to 57 percent of the vote – the lowest total of his career.

A week later, a female Democratic state legislator announced that she had heard from nine other women who claimed Inouye had sexually harassed them over the past decade. But the women didn't go public with their claims, the local press didn't pursue the story, and the Senate Ethics Committeedecided to drop the investigation because the accusers wouldn't participate in an inquiry.”

Based on the same incident, Dan Inouye is named one of the "top 10" Democrat Congressional Sex scandals by Human Events magazine.

“10. Sen. Daniel Inouye. The 82-year-old Hawaii Democrat was accused in the 1990s by numerous women of sexual harassment. Democrats cast doubt on the allegations and the Senate Ethics Committee dropped its investigation.”

Democrats are hoping that they can use the Foley scandal against Republicans in the November elections. But this is not 1992 nor is it 1975. The story is playing out on the Internet, not in 30 minute nightly news broadcasts from ABC, NBC and CBS.

The days when “the local press didn’t pursue the story” are over.

Andrew Walden is the publisher and editor of Hawaii Free Press, a Big Island-based newspaper. He can be reached via email atmailto:andrewwalden@email.com

HawaiiReporter.com reports the real news, and prints all editorials submitted, even if they do not represent the viewpoint of the editors, as long as they are written clearly. Send editorials tomailto:Malia@HawaiiReporter.com